How one persistent teacher got ‘Peanuts’ its first black character 50 years ago

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Harriet Glickman and Marleik Walker, the actor who voiced Franklin in the Peanuts movie, talk to children at the American University of Health Science in Signal Hill on Saturday, November. 17, 2018. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the introduction of the character Franklin, the first black character in the Peanuts strip. Following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., Harriet Glickman wrote a letter to Charles M. Schulz on the subject of racially integrating Peanuts. The exchange between them resulted in the introduction of Franklin into the Peanuts strip in 1968. (Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)

Harriet Glickman surrounded by children at the American University of Health Science in Signal Hill on Saturday, November. 17, 2018. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the introduction of the character Franklin, the first black character in the Peanuts strip. Following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., Harriet Glickman wrote a letter to Charles M. Schulz on the subject of racially integrating Peanuts. The exchange between them resulted in the introduction of Franklin into the Peanuts strip in 1968. (Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)

Harriet Glickman was a white, 42-year-old suburban Los Angeles school teacher and mother raising three children when Martin Luther King was assassinated in 1968.

Glickman was so angry and outraged she asked herself what she could do personally to change the conditions which led to the assassination and contributed to what she called “the vast sea of misunderstanding, fear, hate and violence.”

So, Glickman, a Sherman Oaks resident, decided to write a letter to a cartoonist. But this wasn’t just any cartoonist. It was Charles M. Schulz, creator of the enormously popular “Peanuts” comic strip which was published in hundreds of newspapers around the United States reaching nearly 100 million readers.

Harriet Glickman reads “Nice to Meet You, Franklin” to children at the American University of Health Science in Signal Hill on Saturday, Nov. 17, 2018. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the introduction of the character Franklin, the first black character in the Peanuts strip. Following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., Harriet Glickman wrote a letter to Charles M. Schulz on the subject of racially integrating Peanuts. The exchange between them resulted in the introduction of Franklin into the Peanuts strip in 1968. (Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)

Harriet Glickman autographs books for children at the American University of Health Science in Signal Hill on Saturday, November. 17, 2018. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the introduction of the character Franklin, the first black character in the Peanuts strip. Following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., Harriet Glickman wrote a letter to Charles M. Schulz on the subject of racially integrating Peanuts. The exchange between them resulted in the introduction of Franklin into the Peanuts strip in 1968. (Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)

Glickman told the story of what happened next and how her letter changed the course of comic strip history to a rapt audience of more than 200 children and adults attending a day of “Giving Thanks” at American University of Health Sciences in Signal Hill Saturday. It fittingly was Glickman’s 92nd birthday and the youngsters, representing the diversity of Long Beach, sang a rousing version of “Happy Birthday” to her, bringing a broad smile to her face.

In her letter to Schulz, dated April 15, 1968, Glickman said her family loved the Peanuts characters and was “totally Peanuts oriented.” In her family, she said teenage daughter, Kathy had Peanuts sweatshirts and posters, 10-year-old son Paul was a Charlie Brown Little Leaguer and had memorized every Peanuts paperback book, 3 1/2-year-old Simon had his own Snoopy he slept with. Glickman said she and her husband kept pertinent Peanuts cartoons on desk and bulletin boards “as guards against pomposity.”

But, she said, something was missing. All of the characters in Peanuts world then were white. Glickman said she wrote in 1968 “the introduction of Negro children into the group of Schulz characters” would help “in shaping the unconscious attitudes of our kids.”

“I am well aware of the very long and tortuous road ahead,” she wrote. “I’m sure one doesn’t make radical changes in so important an institution without a lot of shock waves from syndicates, clients, etc. You have, however, a stature and reputation which can withstand a great deal.”

Glickman said she didn’t expect an answer, but Schulz did respond and gently said no to her request, noting that he and other fellow cartoonists “would like very much to be able to do this, but each of us is afraid that it would look like we were patronizing our Negro friends. I don’t know what the solution is.”

Glickman, however, wasn’t discouraged. She asked Schulz for his permission to ask some of her African American friends about their reaction to her idea. Schulz said yes, that he would be “very anxious” to hear what they said. Glickman’s friends liked the idea, one saying it would help give black youths a feeling of identify and help race relations.

Harriet Glickman spoke with children at the American University of Health Science in Signal Hill on Saturday, Nov. 17, 2018. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the introduction of the character Franklin, the first black character in the Peanuts strip. Following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., Harriet Glickman wrote a letter to Charles M. Schulz on the subject of racially integrating Peanuts. The exchange between them resulted in the introduction of Franklin into the Peanuts strip in 1968. (Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)

That persuaded Schulz and, in a groundbreaking comic strip on July 31, 1968, he introduced his first black character, Franklin, a young boy carrying a beach ball who casually walked up to Charlie Brown on the beach, asking him, “Is this your beach ball?”

That was the start of integrating the Peanuts World which was met with a largely positive reaction.

But Glickman, in her talk to the children last week, said there were some, especially in the South who weren’t so happy with a black character in Peanuts.

One Mississippi editor wrote to the syndicate publishing Peanuts: “In today’s ‘Peanuts’ comic strip Negro and white children are portrayed together in school. I ask that future comic strips do not have this type of content.”

But Glickman said Schulz kept his word and told the head of the syndicate who was having some misgivings: “Either you print it as I draw it, or I quit.”

Glickman told the children Saturday that the 1960s in the United States was “a time long before any of you were born, a time when not everyone was understanding of other people, when young African Americans couldn’t go to the same beach as white children and when schools were separate.”

She was especially pleased to introduce a black teenager in the audience, Marleik Walker, who did Franklin’s voice in “The Peanuts Movie,” which was released in 2015. Walker, now 16, lives in Compton but attends Los Alamitos High School. He is driven there every day by his mother.

Harriet Glickman and Marleik Walker, the actor who voiced Franklin in the Peanuts movie, talk to children at the American University of Health Science in Signal Hill on Saturday, Nov. 17, 2018. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the introduction of the character Franklin, the first black character in the Peanuts strip. Following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., Harriet Glickman wrote a letter to Charles M. Schulz on the subject of racially integrating Peanuts. The exchange between them resulted in the introduction of Franklin into the Peanuts strip in 1968. (Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)

“I didn’t know all about what happened in the past, but we’re all more knowledgeable now, thanks to Mrs. Glickman,” he said to loud applause.

Susan Reccius, a neighbor of Glickman’s in Sherman Oaks, said she couldn’t believe how matter of fact Glickman was about persuading Schulz to integrate his strip.

“Years ago I was in Harriet’s kitchen and she showed me a Peanuts comic strip with Franklin in it,” Reccius said. “She told me she had something to do with that. At the time, I didn’t know her involvement. She doesn’t brag or boast about her role. I told her what she did was huge.”

The Rev. Gregory Johnson, co-founder of American University of Health Sciences who invited Glickman to the event, said he wanted her to know what a profound effect her action with Schulz had on him. “I appreciate so much what you did in improving relations. I wouldn’t be here without you,” he said.

Glickman was born in Sioux City, Iowa, and lived in Chicago before moving to Southern California and a job in the Burbank School District and eventually UCLA before retiring.

In her closing remarks, Glickman said the 50 years since Franklin was introduced “feels like yesterday.” She said some things have changed, but others have not. “We still have so many problems on how we see each other,” she said.

She told the children: “You can make a difference in making the world a better place. When you see something that makes you feel angry or upset, don’t just complain, do something about it. And remember that we all care for each other; we’re all the same loving, caring people.”

For each child, she autographed a book introducing Franklin to Charlie Brown, “Nice to Meet You, Franklin!” She urged each youngster “to make a difference.”

Rich Archbold is public editor of the Press-Telegram. Archbold, who arrived in Long Beach in 1978, was the longtime executive editor of the Press-Telegram and managing editor before that. He writes a weekly column and coordinates the Press-Telegram's myriad community connections.